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He was at an age where kids start becoming independent of their parents. They want to handle things on their own. Plus, his parents were aware of the bullying -- and nothing was accomplished by their repeated talks to the principle and teachers about it.
I suspect that he was just too ashamed to tell them.....he was at a point where the kids at school thought he was a loser, he no doubt had begun to believe them and most likely couldn't bear the thought of his parents knowing that he was a 'loser'.
That is how I felt when it happened to me, anyways.
That's true.
At eleven, there's no worse crime than being a "tattletale".
This boy died to protect those crummy bullies.
He was at an age where kids start becoming independent of their parents. They want to handle things on their own. Plus, his parents were aware of the bullying -- and nothing was accomplished by their repeated talks to the principle and teachers about it.
I suspect that he was just too ashamed to tell them.....he was at a point where the kids at school thought he was a loser, he no doubt had begun to believe them and most likely couldn't bear the thought of his parents knowing that he was a 'loser'.
That is how I felt when it happened to me, anyways.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jane72
That's true.
At eleven, there's no worse crime than being a "tattletale".
This boy died to protect those crummy bullies.
That's what I think is so sad. I was a fairly independent kid but never in my life has there been a time where I didn't have someone to confide in when something was bothering me; if it wasn't my mom, it was my older brother or a female cousin. A lot of kids are carrying the burdens of the world around on their shoulders and have no one to talk to.
11-Year-Old Commits Suicide Over Anti-Gay Bullying
The recent 'bullycide' deaths of Eric Mohat and Carl Walker-Hoover certainly weren't the first, and won't likely be the last, but I didn't expect to read this story about Jaheem Herrera, which is similar in almost every aspect to Walker-Hoover's, just one week later.
And like Walker-Hoover's, it includes a school tone-deaf to a mother's concerns, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports:
"On Thursday afternoon, after returning home from Dunaire Elementary School, Jaheem quietly went into his room and hanged himself. His 10-year-old sister, Yerralis, also a fifth-grader, discovered Jaheem’s dead body. 'His sister was screaming, ‘Get him down, get him down,’' said Norman Keene, who helped raise Jaheem since the boy was two years old. When Keene got to the room, he saw Yerralis holding her brother, trying to remove the pressure of the noose her brother had fashioned with a fabric belt. Jaheem was bullied relentlessly, his family said. Keene said the family knew the boy was a target, but until his death they didn’t understand the scope. 'We’d ask him, ‘Jaheem, what’s wrong with you?’' Keene recalled. 'He’d never tell us.' He didn’t want his sister to tell, either. She witnessed much of the bullying, and many times rose to her brother’s defense, Keene said. 'They called him gay and a snitch,' his stepfather said. 'All the time they’d call him this.' In an interview with WSB-TV, the boy’s mother, Masika Bermudez, also said her son was being bullied at school. She said she had complained to the school. She said she asked him about the bullying Thursday when he came home from school and he denied it. She sent him to his room to calm down. It was the last time she would see him alive."
Enough of this BS already and you homophobes are responsible for this kid's death!
Kids are always mean, their brains are not fully developed, and they have not learned proper manners and empathy yet.
I saw fellow classmates teased into tears over being fat, freckled, skinny, ugly, buck toothed, geeky, and yes, even being called "a sissy" or Tomboy.
You can have all the gay marriage and gay pride parades you want, and one hundred years from now children will still be mean, and some kids will react badly to the teasing, you can label people with whatever name you like, but you will never change this sad fact of childhood.
Kids are always mean, their brains are not fully developed, and they have not learned proper manners and empathy yet.
I saw fellow classmates teased into tears over being fat, freckled, skinny, ugly, buck toothed, geeky, and yes, even being called "a sissy" or Tomboy.
You can have all the gay marriage and gay pride parades you want, and one hundred years from now children will still be mean, and some kids will react badly to the teasing, you can label people with whatever name you like, but you will never change this sad fact of childhood.
As long as society accepts and even encourages some childrens sociopathic tendencies i.e. bullying - you are right, nothing will ever change.
I say it is past time to recognize bullies for what they are - emotionally disturbed individuals that should not be allowed to associate with the 'normal' children until their behavior changes, if it can change.
Regardless, do you even know if this kid had chosen to be gay?
""Chosen" to be gay? Apparently, only Gay people are aware that it is NOT a choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by freedom
I said that in post #173.
The OP appears to make it a gay issue.
Bullying is certainly not limited to being gay. In fact, the bullies at my school were too busy bullying me for being a little fat kid who was bad at sports to even take notice of the fact that I was also gay.
The fact that homophobia is one of the last acceptable societal prejudices lessens the chance that bullying on the basis of sexuality will be appropriately punished. Hence, the whole "he just needs to be toughened up a bit" attitude continues to prevail.
I think we have to look at not just the bullies, but the kids who are under the influence of 'bullies'
Let's not diminish how powerful an impact they have on the general school population!
This is why, just dealing with the bullies isn't enough, and you have to deal with the social issues. If you don't it will be the same vicious cycle. The real reason that i think people don't want to deal with gay issues in the school system is not because they care about the general welfare and harmony of all students, it is an unfounded fear that by dealing with the issue, you are encouraging homosexuality by introducing it due to unproven 'convertion and condition' arguments.
Add this to the list of the guy who shot up the church yesterday as another right wing killing. Thanks Republicans. And dems, you just sit back and watch you cowards.
""Chosen" to be gay? Apparently, only Gay people are aware that it is NOT a choice.
Bullying is certainly not limited to being gay. In fact, the bullies at my school were too busy bullying me for being a little fat kid who was bad at sports to even take notice of the fact that I was also gay.
The fact that homophobia is one of the last acceptable societal prejudices lessens the chance that bullying on the basis of sexuality will be appropriately punished. Hence, the whole "he just needs to be toughened up a bit" attitude continues to prevail.
Sex can be compulsive.
Like overeating.
You have a compulsion that draws you to the same sex, you can choose to act on it or not.
That 5 layer chocolate fudge bomb cake with triple chocolate frosting is calling you from across the room. You may have only one slice, but I guarantee you there is someone who will sit down on the floor alone with a fork and eat that entire cake because their compulsion told them to.
Eating food like sex is natural. It's a natural function of human existence.
Homosexuality is a compulsion. People feel compelled to do it even if it goes against normal human sexual activity.
Quote:
Main Entry:com·pul·sion Pronunciation: \kəm-ˈpəl-shən\ Function:noun Etymology:Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin compulsion-, compulsio, from Latin compellere to compelDate:15th century
1 a: an act of compelling : the state of being compelled b: a force that compels
2: an irresistible persistent impulse to perform an act (as excessive hand washing) ; also: the act itself
Add this to the list of the guy who shot up the church yesterday as another right wing killing. Thanks Republicans. And dems, you just sit back and watch you cowards.
Have you been in a situation where someone is shot right beside you.. it is a very scary situation and people are literally shocked and paralyzed - there is a disconnect with the terrible and shocking reality in front of you. This is especially the case if you aren't conditioned to be in such an envirionment. We aren't talking about a war zone here.
You have a compulsion that draws you to the same sex, you can choose to act on it or not.
That 5 layer chocolate fudge bomb cake with triple chocolate frosting is calling you from across the room. You may have only one slice, but I guarantee you there is someone who will sit down on the floor alone with a fork and eat that entire cake because their compulsion told them to.
Eating food like sex is natural. It's a natural function of human existence.
Homosexuality is a compulsion. People feel compelled to do it even if it goes against normal human sexual activity.
I've heard it all now...can you come up with a published study that proves, or says that homosexuality is a compulsion?
Why can't you understand that for a certain percentage of the world’s population homosexual sex is normal, and natural?
Calling homosexuality a compulsion and comparing it to a 5 layer chocolate cake is a new low...
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